WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump issued an extraordinary threat in a nationalistic and aggressive first address to the United Nations, warning that the U.S. might “totally destroy” North Korea if Kim Jong Un, whom Trump belittlingly called “Rocket Man,” strikes against the U.S. or its allies.“No nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles. The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” Trump said. “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary.”Trump’s UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, issued a similar threat the day prior. But Trump’s words were unusually bellicose for a formal presidential address to the world body.The threat represents the latest menacing moment in a roller-coaster of Trump rhetoric toward North Korea. Trump has both threatened nuclear annihilation, promising “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if Kim so much as continued to threaten to the U.S., and spoken more softly, suggesting that negotiations might be possible and that military action was not imminent.The disparaging nickname he used for Kim, “Rocket Man,” debuted on his Twitter feed two days prior. Trump’s address was remarkable not only for the North Korea threat. Emphasizing “sovereignty,” he called on the UN to respect the right of nations to govern themselves as they choose — but he also denounced the governments of North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, and he called on the UN to solve world problems.Read more: Trump, in UN debut, urges world body to focus ‘more on people and less on bureaucracy’Trudeau to receive global citizenship award, address ...
|
